Everyone has a heart of some shape or form. Some may
have missing parts, extensions, or even replacements. Weak or strong,
everyone has room for love in their heart. What is a heart used
for? It's what keeps us alive and enables us to run like the wind,
jump to the sky, and breathe that ever so needed sigh of relief
at the end of a busy day. Is it really that simple? Not quite. Hearts
are also used for telling stories, storing love, and dispersing
love. What is it like inside a heart? Yours and mine probably contain
to valves, two cardiac veins, a left and right atrium, an aorta,
and four arteries. Is it warm or cold? I would hope warm, because
otherwise you would not be reading this right now. But what is it
like inside the heart of a child with congenital heart defects?
It's a whole new world. Even though he or she may be missing a ventricle
or have a prolapsed valve, his or her heart is filled with the same
love and kindness as ours, and maybe even a little more.
Heart disease affects men, women, and children of all ages. Yet
it seems to have the most unique effect on school-age children.
My brother Jay, twelve, is living proof. He is now a healthy,
active and energetic preteen thanks to the wonders of modern medicine.
Though it hasn't always been that way. Jay was born absent the
right pulmonary artery and corresponding right lung. Ten years
later, he would undergo eight suspenseful hours of delicate open-heart
surgery. Although we were not aware of it at the time, this experience
became a major turning point in our lives. The outpouring of love
and support from then total strangers has led to some of the most
treasured friendships we could ever hope to form.
First there was the Stratman family. Daniel Stratman was brought
out of the Intensive Care Unit to recover from his open heart
surgery and became Jay's roommate the night before Jay went into
surgery. The boy's really never spoke, as Daniel was still in
quite a bit of pain and Jay really didn't know too much about
what it was like to be recovering from open-heart surgery. Their
first conversation was one the will last in both our families
memories forever. As Jay went into surgery about 4:00 p.m. that
day, Daniel sat up in his bed and said, "Good Luck, Jay". Jay
responded with a simple, "Thank you". The special friendship extended
far beyond these two special young boys. Daniel's mom, Sue, came
to our comfort during the late hours of Jay's surgery, when there
was difficulty getting Jay off the heart by-pass machine to breathe
on his own. It was getting close to midnight and Sue just couldn't
go to sleep without coming down to see how a total stranger was
doing in surgery. She had been there before, as this was Daniel's
third open-heart, and knew what severe emotional pain our family
was enduring. She proceeded to lead my parents and grandparents
in strengthening prayer at the most critical hours of their entire
lives. Her encouragement during those hours will never be forgotten.
With our surgeries behind us, we are just hopeful for good news
as we make our regular check-ups at St. Louis Childrens Hospital.
We look forward to the first Wednesday of each month, when our
families attend "Heart to Heart", the support group at Childrens
Hospital, where the parents and children both meet to share successes
or gain strength if it's been a difficult month. We see the miracles
of modern medicine and we also lose a few battles with very sick
children.
This year I received the gift of the Holy Spirit in Confirmation.
In reflecting back over my Confirmation "Homework", I recall some
very rewarding hours of volunteer work. In a small way, I was
able to give back to some of the wonderful organizations that
have been there for our family, making Jay's recovery such a positive
one. Sunburn never felt so good as it did the day I worked the
county fair to raise money for the Children's Miracle Network
or seldom have painful feet felt so good as the six hours of selling
T-shirts for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I recently attended the
"Heart Ball" for the American Heart Association, where my brother
was the guest of honor and spoke in front of 500 generous attendees.
At my tender age of only 14, I have seen how the power of prayer,
hope, and faith can work miracles. Not every kid understands what
this string of events that Jay and I have gone through. I consider
myself on of the luckiest sisters in the world to have experienced
these events at such a young age. I have developed an endless
compassion for sick children and their families. Sometimes it's
really hard to explain the effect of these painful but miraculous
moments. But, for now, we'll just enjoy the moments we watch Jay
play second base and run the base paths with relative ease on
his baseball team, "Sacred Heart".
